Styleguide

A

ABC stores — liquor stores run by the N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission;  ABC acceptable on second reference. 

academic degrees — unless the individual is a doctor of medicine, do not use Dr. before his or her name. See the AP Stylebook for more guidelines.

Acappology 101 — a capella singing group at NCSU

Addam’s University Bookstore — not Adam’s

Adderall — brand name narcotic medication for amphetamine salts. This highly controlled substance, used to treat Attention Deficit Disorder, is often abused recreationally as well as for academic purposes.

African American Cultural Center — within the center are specific areas, so give the specific location when possible. 

African-American Heritage Society  — note hyphenation

African-American Student Advisory Council — note hyphenation; AASAC on second reference

Ag Institute— slang for the Agricultural Institute, a part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Students earn a two-year associate of applied science degree upon completion. http://harvest.cals.ncsu.edu/aginstitute/

Agromeck — NCSU’s yearbook; was first published in 1903

Aikido Club — not Akido Club

Air Force ROTC — AFROTC on second reference

Ag Awareness Week – Agriculture Awareness Week; an annual event that Alpha Zeta sponsors to promote awareness and appreciation of agriculture on campus. Groups cover the Brickyard with equipment, livestock and displays.

albums — see composition titles

Alcohol Law Enforcement — a division of North Carolina crime control and public safety that enforces laws pertaining to the sale, purchase, transportation, manufacture, possession and consumption of alcohol. ALE on second reference.

Alexander Hamilton Scholars — dual-degree program in management and humanities

All-Girl Cheerleading Club — note hyphenation

Alumni Association — Officially the “N.C. State Alumni Association,” the Alumni Association is acceptable on all references unless “N.C. State” is needed for clarity. It was founded in 1887. The Alumni Association is located in the $25 million Dorothy and Roy Park Alumni Center on Centennial Campus. It is not a department within the University and is not directly affiliated with N.C. State athletics. http://www.alumni.ncsu.edu see alsoWolfpack Club 

alumnus, alumna, alumni, alumnae — an alumnus is a man who has graduated from a school. An alumna is a woman who has graduated from a school. Use alumni when referring to a group of men and women. Use alumnae when referring to a group of only women. This is an exception to AP style, which states that an alum(nus, na) can also be a person who has attended the school. For those who did not graduate, indicate that the person did not graduate and do not use alum(nus, nae, ni, na).

A-minus, A-plus — in headlines, A- or A+ is acceptable; see grades entry for further guidelines

American Association of Textile Chemists & Colorists — AATCC on second reference

American Indian Science and Engineering Society — AISES on second reference

Animal Science Graduate Student Association — Animal Science GSA on second reference

AP — acceptable on second reference for The Associated Press. Also used to denote AP classes offered in high school for advanced students. The acronym then stands for Advanced Placement; the tests are administered by the College Board. 

Appalachian State University — ASU acceptable on second reference; one of the 16 campuses in the UNC System

Arabic Club — not Arabian Club or Arab Club (which is now defunct)

arboretum — use J.C. Raulston Arboretum on first reference to NCSU’s arboretum located on Beryl Road

Architecture Graduate Student Association — Architecture GSA on second reference

archrival

Army ROTC — do not shorten to AROTC.

Arnold Air Society — a national honorary professional and service organization established to strengthen relations between Air Force ROTC, the Air Force, the campus and the community.

Arts N.C. State — N.C. State’s visual and performing arts program

assembly — capitalize when part of the proper name for a lower house of legislature. Retain the capitalization when the state name is dropped but the reference is specific. If a legislature is known as a general assembly: the Missouri General Assembly, the General Assembly, the assembly. Lowercase all plural uses. 

Association for the Concerns of African-American Graduate Students — note hyphenation

Association of Student Governments, UNC — a student-run collaboration between the 16 campuses of the UNC System, headquartered in downtown Raleigh. The president of the organization is a non-voting member of the UNC Board of Governors. ASG is acceptable on second reference.

athletics director — capitalize when used as a title. The athletics director handles more than one sport, so it’s not athletic director.

attribution — identify students by year and major and for the most part, use said. See Attribution: Say said for more information.

the Atrium — a food court located adjacent to D.H. Hill Library

Automated Degree Audit — spell out on first reference, use ADA on second reference

Avent Ferry Complex — capitalize Complex

 

B

band — a band is a single entity, therefore the correct pronoun is it in reference to a band in a story. Band members are correctly referred to as they. For NCSU bands, see entries under individual band names.

Barber-Scotia College — located in Concord, N.C.

Barton College — located in Wilson, N.C.

Baver Drive

beer pong

Bell Tower — for history, visit http://www.ncsu.edu/facilities/buildings/tower.html

Belmont Abbey College — located in Belmont, N.C. 

Benjamin Franklin Scholars — students in the dual-degree program for engineering and humanities

Bennett College — located in Greensboro, N.C. 

Bioinformatics Graduate Student Association — Bioinformatics GSA on second reference

Biological & Agricultural Engineering — Biological & Agricultural GSA on second reference. Note the ampersand.

Black Finesse Modeling Troupe — not troup.

Black Friday — the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States, which is the beginning of the traditional Holiday shopping season

blood alcohol content — a measure of the amount of alcohol present in the blood at the time of testing. In North Carolina, the legal limit is .08. BAC on second reference. 

Blue Ridge Road

B’nai B’rith — American Jewish service organization

board of directors, board of trustees — lowercase when referring to a corporate entity. Capitalize when referring to the UNC System or NCSU entities. See organizations and institutions in the AP Stylebook for more guidelines.

Board of Governors — the 32-member supervising body of the University of North Carolina. Always identify the board on first reference: the UNC Board of Governors, the UNC System’s Board of Governors. BOG is acceptable on second reference.

Board of Trustees — the supervising body of NCSU. The trustees are alumni and the student body president. The chancellor is not a member. Identify the board with the University on first reference. On subsequent references, use the board.

Bojangles’ — the popular chain restaurant on Western Boulevard. Bojangles’ was founded in 1977, and operates more than 315 restaurants located in 10 Eastern states.

boldface — sometimes used for individual headings within a story. It is used for Q&As to differentiate between speakers. In text format, use HTML (<b>,</b>) to enclose text, and do not add spaces inside HTML tags. See the AP Stylebook for further guidelines.

BOLO — use be on the lookout. This term appears in Campus Police reports.

Boney Drive

books — see composition titles

bookstores — see NCSU Bookstore

Botany Graduate Student Association — Botany GSA on second reference

Breathalyzer — trademark name for a device used to measure blood alcohol content

Brevard College — located in Brevard, N.C.

Brickyard — area between Harrelson Hall and D. H. Hill Library. One word, always capitalized.

Brooks Avenue 

Broughton Drive 

business management — use instead of business as the major

bylines — correspondent is appropriate for any entry-level writer still in training. After training, staff writer is appropriate for anyone writing for news, sports or features who is not an editor, deputy editor or senior staff writer. Staff report (appearing in the same form as the title, not the name) is only appropriate for stories written by staff members. Material contributed by an outside source with no additional research should carry a byline such as Contributed Material or something similar. Senior refers to position, not class status, and applies only to the writer’s respective section. Opinion writers are staff columnists. There are no bylines on Technician’s View (staff editorial) or items strictly rewritten from press releases. Writers may use any form of their names as long as they are consistent.

 

C

C++ — computer programming language

C-Store — short for convenience store

Caldwell Lounge — located on the first floor of Caldwell Hall

Campbell University — located in Buies Creek, N.C.

Campout — Historically, to get a ticket to a basketball game; students would show up in front of Reynold’s Coliseum to get a student ticket the day of the game, first-come, first-served. However, some games were in such high demand, students would line up the night before outside of Reynolds just to get good seats. Eventually this wound up being students lining up with sleeping bags, tents, and camping equipment to wait in line for the tickets, hence campout. In February 2008, a record 3,200 people registered for campout. http://students.ncsu.edu/tickets/#campout-history

campus — lowercase unless referring to a specific part of campus: East Campus, West Campus, Central Campus.

Campus Appearance Ticket — Campus Appearance Tickets are issued to students when a Public Safety Officer believes that student may have violated the Code of Student Conduct. After being issued a Campus Appearance Ticket, the student must contact the Office of Student Conduct within the next two business days to schedule an appointment. http://www.ncsu.edu/studentconduct.ncsu.edu

Campus Police — this is the proper name for the NCSU law enforcement department. Formerly Public Safety.

Capability Drive

Capitol Police — see State Capitol Police

Captain’s Table — committee comprised of athletic team captains

Career Development Center — formerly the Career Center, located in 2100 Pullen Hall and 300 Clark Hall.

Carley Capital Group — developers of Centennial Campus

Catawba College — located in Salisbury, N.C.

Cates Avenue

CAT — for Campus Police, it stands for campus appearance ticket. It also stands for Capital Area Transit, the transportation system that has a route through campus. Spell out the entire name of either on first reference, then use the abbreviation on second reference. If both are used in the same story, spell out campus appearance ticket on every reference.

Cat’s Cradle — no the. On second reference, it can be called the Cradle. Located in Carrboro, it’s a bar/musical venue.

Centennial Campus — do not use the. This term refers to the campus adjacent to NCSU’s main campus that serves as a business, research, technology and learning hub. Businesses, government and research labs are headquartered there, and the campus also serves as an incubator for fledgling institutions. Construction started in 1984 and is ongoing.

Centennial Parkway

center around — do not use. You center on something, not around it. Use surrounding instead. 

Chamberlain Street 

chancellor — for NCSU, it is Randy Woodson. Capitalize only as a formal title before a name. See the AP Stylebook for further guidelines on other usages of the word.

Chancellor’s Liaison Committee — an advisory group to the chancellor composed of student leaders 

Char-Grill

Charlie Goodnight’s Restaurant and Comedy Club 

Chemistry Graduate Student Association — Chemistry GSA on second reference.

Chowan College — located in Murfreesboro, N.C.

The Chronicle — Duke University’s student newspaper; note capitalization of the.

classes — lowercase but do not abbreviate: freshman, sophomore, junior, senior. Rank is determined by hours passed, not time spent in school.

clauses and phrases — a clause contains a subject and a verb, and one or more clauses can be used to make a complete sentence. A phrase is a sequence of two or more words conveying a single thought but not containing a subject and a verb. Phrases can be joined with clauses to make a complete sentence. 

clubs — capitalize when referring to specific registered clubs Lowercase when referring to more than one. 

COBOL — computer programming language; acronym for Common Business-Oriented Language. Use of COBOL on first reference is acceptable if identified as a programming language. 

coed — term used when women were first admitted to all-male colleges in the mid-1900s. Use only in historical references and direct quotes. 

Collaborative Greek Council — one of the four Greek Councils under the Department of Greek Life. Serves as a governing body for Greek Life organizations that don’t fit under any of the other councils. CGC is acceptable on second reference.

college — capitalize when part of a proper name; lowercase elsewhere. Colleges at NCSU are as follows:

• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences — CALS on second reference
• College of Design — administrative offices are in Brooks Hall
• College of Education — administrative offices are in Poe Hall
• College of Engineering — administrative offices are in Peele Hall
• College of Humanities and Social Sciences — CHASS on second reference; administrative offices are in Caldwell Hall
• College of Natural Resources — offices are in Biltmore Hall
• College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences — PAMS on second reference; administrative offices are in Cox Hall
• College of Textiles — administrative offices are in College of Textiles on Centennial Campus
• College of Veterinary Medicine — CVM on second reference; offices are at the Vet School
• First Year College — FYC on second reference; offices are in Tucker Residence Hall; the First Year College does not award degrees; no hyphen
• Poole College of Management — administrative offices are in Nelson Hall
• The Graduate Program — administrative offices are in Peele Hall

College Democrats — not College of Democrats

College Republicans — not College of Republicans

commencement 

committee — do not abbreviate; capitalize only as part of a formal name. Do not capitalize committee in shortened versions of long committee names. For NCSU, if a committee is an official university committee, a part of the Board of Governors or Board of Trustees or a standing committee on one of the three senates on campus, capitalize it.

communication — use instead of communications for the degree 

Communication Graduate Student Association — Communication GSA on second reference

composition titles — in general, italicize the names of large works and place in quotations the smaller pieces or short works. The guidelines below dictate the Technician’s style of printing compositions.

• albums — place album title in italics, but song titles in quotations. Capitalize, but do not use quotation marks on descriptive titles for orchestral works. If the instrumentation is not part of the title but added for explanatory purposes, lowercase the names of the instruments. Use quotation marks for non-musical terms in a title. If the work has a special full title, all of it is quoted. In subsequent references, lowercase symphony, etc.
• books — place in italics.
• films — place in italics.
• lectures/speeches — place in quotations
• periodicals — place publication title in italics, but place article title in quotations.
• plays — place in italics.
• poetry — place in quotations. Capitalize the first word in a line of poetry unless the author has deliberately left it lowercase for effect. Do not capitalize the first word on indented lines that must be created simply because the writer’s line is too long for the available column width.
• television programs — place show title in italics but episode title in quotations.
• video games — place in italics.
• works of art — place in quotations.

Computer Science Graduate Student Association — Computer Science GSA on second reference

constitution — for references to the U.S. Constitution, capitalize with or without the U.S. modifier. When referring to constitutions of other states or nations, capitalize only the name of the nation or state. Capitalize when referring to the Student Body Constitution, which is one of the governing documents of Student Government.

Cook Out — located at 3930 Western Blvd., this fast-food restaurant is popular with students for its reasonably priced hamburgers and shakes.

co-op — abbreviation referring to the Cooperative Extension Program at NCSU. Use co-op on second reference. 

cop — may be used as a term for police officer in lighter stories or opinion pieces but can also be a derogatory term 

copy editor, copy editing, copy-edit

Counseling Center — part of Student Health Services

Counselor Education Graduate Student Association — Counselor Education GSA on second reference

courses — use the official course title and capitalize it. Physics I, Internship in English, Nutrition of Domestic Animals Lab, etc. On subsequent references, use PY 205, ENG 350, ANS 230L, etc. 

Court of North Carolina — grassy area bordered by the 1911 Building, Winston, Caldwell and Tompkins halls and Poe Hall.  Not Court of the Carolinas

courtesy titles — refer to both men and women by first and last name. Do not use courtesy titles except in direct quotations, or where needed to distinguish among people with the same last names. In cases where a person’s gender is not apparent from the first name, use a subsequent he or she reference to indicate gender.  

Crafts Center — located on the ground floor of Thompson Theater. It was built in 1925. 

crawfish — not crayfish

Crop Science Graduate Student Association — Crop Science GSA on second reference

Current Drive

 

D

Daily Tar Heel — UNC-Chapel Hill’s student paper; as in the Technician “The” is not a part of the proper name.

damn it — acceptable only in quotes 

Dan Allen Drive 

Dance Marathon — an annual 24-hour event to benefit charity

Dancing With Wolves — social ballroom dance club

data — plural noun, it takes plural verbs and pronouns. See the collective nouns entry in the AP Stylebook for further guidelines and exceptions.

datelines —  for stories outside of Raleigh, use a dateline containing a city name and state (for stories outside of North Carolina). An exception to AP style.

Davidson College — located in Davidson, N.C.

Dead Week — The final week of classes and the week before final exams. In accordance with University regulation 02.20.14 “Lab tests and semester project reports and presentations are permissible during the final week of classes. Papers and homework may have a due date during the final week of classes only if scheduled in the syllabus. However, in order for students to prepare for final examinations, faculty members may not assign other tests, quizzes or additional papers during the final week of classes.” This regulation also includes the scheduling of final exams. 

degrees — see academic degrees

departments — capitalize Department of Physics, Department of English, etc., but not chemistry department or engineering department. However, in an exception to AP style, capitalize proper nouns such as French department or English department. See AP Stylebook for more details.

Department of Campus Recreation — replaces the Intramural Recreation sports program

Department of Athletics — not Athletics Department

derogatory terms — do not use derogatory terms such as krauts (for Germans) or niggers (for blacks) except in direct quotes, and then only when their use is an integral, essential part of the story. See the “Guidelines for use of profanity” for more information.

Derr Track

dining hall — use Fountain Dining Hall or Clark Dining Hall 

director — capitalize when used for people for whom director is a formal title, but lowercase in occupational uses. 

Distance Learning — also Distance Education; http://distance.ncsu.edu and http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/distance/

Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications — DELTA on second reference

Distinguished University Professor — capitalize as a formal title before a name

Doak Field — NCSU’s baseball field, located on West Campus

doctor — use Dr. in first reference as a formal title before the name of an individual who holds a doctor of dental surgery, doctor of medicine, doctor of osteopathy, or doctor of podiatric medicine degree. The form Dr., or Drs., in a plural construction, applies to all first-reference uses before a name, including direct quotations. Do not use Dr. before the names of individuals who hold only academic or honorary doctorates. Do not use the title on subsequent references. See also academic titles.

dorm — not appropriate for use in news stories, but suitable for opinion columns and features. Use the full name of the residence hall in news stories.  

Down East — contrary to the AP Stylebook, do not use to refer to Maine. Use Down East to refer to Eastern North Carolina, and more specifically, the area of the Coastal Plain that includes communities such as Bettie, Davis, Harkers Island, Cedar Island, Atlantic, Sea Level, Straits, Otway and Gloucester.

drunken driving — avoid when referring to charges against a person. Use the more specific DWI (driving while impaired) for North Carolina law; DUI (driving under the influence) for South Carolina law. DWI and DUI are acceptable on second reference. 

Duke University — located in Durham, N.C. Duke is acceptable on second reference.

Dunkin’ Donuts 

Dunn Avenue

Durham Bulls, Durham Bulls Athletic Park — DBAP is acceptable on second reference

 

E

East, East Coast, Eastern Seaboard — capitalize when referring to a specific region

East Carolina University — One of the 16 UNC-System campuses, it’s located in Greenville, N.C. ECU on second reference.  

Eastern North Carolina — capitalize and do not abbreviate

Electrical and Computer Engineering Graduate Student Association — ECEGSA on second reference

Economics Graduate Student Association — Economics GSA on second reference

Edwards Mill Road

EKTAA — Indian student association

Elections Commission — part of the Executive Branch of the Board of Elections of Student Government

Eli Whitney Scholars — dual-degree program in textiles and humanities

Elizabeth City State University — located in Elizabeth City, N.C., ECSU on second reference; one of the 16 North Carolina schools in the UNC system.

Elon University — located in Elon, N.C.

Emerging Issues Forum — an annual program that focuses on economic problems

Enterprise Street

Entomology Graduate Student Association — Entomology GSA on second reference

 

F

Facebook — online networking site for college and high school students across the nation. Provides support for photos, groups, message boards and more. When referring to the user’s profile, be sure to refer to his or her Facebook account.

• Wrong: After checking her Facebook, Smith said she left.
• Right: After checking her Facebook profile, Smith said she left.

faculty — singular noun

Faculty Senate — use senate on second reference unless a distinction needs to be made between it and Student Senate. Members are faculty senators. 

fall break — not capitalized unless part of a formal title or name

Falls of Neuse Road — not Falls of the Neuse Road

farmers market — proper form is the N.C. State Farmers Market or State Farmers Market. It’s located off Lake Wheeler Road and Centennial Parkway.

Faucette Drive

Fayetteville State University — Fayetteville State on second reference; do not use FSU; this refers to Florida State University. 

fiance, fiancee — fiance refers to the male partner in an engaged couple; fiancee refers to the female partner in an engaged couple. Do not use these terms if an engagement has not been declared. 

films — see composition titles

Fire Protection Division — acceptable on first reference for the NCSU fire department

First Year College — see college

fiscal year — the 12-month period that a corporation or governmental body uses for bookkeeping purposes. The federal government’s fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. NCSU’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.

foreign particles — lowercase particles such as de, la and von when part of a given name; capitalize only when they start a sentence. 

Founders Drive

Four-H Club — 4-H Club is preferred. Members are referred to as 4-H’ers.

Fraternities — see Greek organizations

Fraternity Court — use actual street name; not Greek Court when referring to area with Greek housing

Free Expression Tunnel — located on Central Campus

French Club — also known as Le Cercle Francais

Friendly Drive 

 

G

gameplay — one word when referring to video games.

Gardner Street

GLBT Center — GLBT Center is acceptable on all references in context. If there is a potential for it not to be clear, spell out “Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Center.” It was established in the fall of 2007 and is currently located in Harrelson Hall during ongoing renovations at the Talley Student Center.

Gardner-Webb University — located in Boiling Springs,  N.C.

Geek-A-Thon — A Geek-A-Thon is where volunteers refurbish donated computers so that they can be given to kids and their families. The first N.C. State event was held in 2007.

general assembly — see assembly

General Services Administration — GSA on second reference

Genetics Graduate Student Association — Genetics GSA on second reference

goer — suffix takes no hyphens: moviegoer

Gorman Street

grades — use A-plus, A, A-minus, etc.: She did well on her final and made an A-minus in her biology class. For headlines, use A-, C+, etc. When referring to plural grades, use an apostrophe between the letter grade and the s: She made all A’s and B’s. 

Graduate Association of Public Administration — GAPA on second reference

Graduate Association for Students in Psychology — GRASP on second reference

graffiti (plural), graffito (singular) 

Grains of Time — all-male a cappella singing group at NCSU

Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce — not Great

Greek, Greeks — refers to fraternities, sororities and their members

Greek Life, Department of — not Office of Greek Life. A team of University staff and graduate students who oversee Greek Life organizations, councils and Fraternity Court. Greek Life is acceptable on second reference. Only capitalize when referring to the department, employees of the department or Greek organizations recognized by Greek Life.

• Wrong: John Doe is a member of Greek Life.
• Right: John Doe works for Greek Life. John Doe is active in the Greek life community.

Greensboro College — located in Greensboro, N.C.

guest — do not use as a verb unless in quoted material.

Guilford College — located in Greensboro, N.C.

 

H

High Point University — located in High Point, N.C.

highway patrol — capitalize if used in the formal name of a police agency. For North Carolina, the reference is state troopers. 

Hillsborough Hike — short for Haunted Hillsborough Hike

Hillsborough Street — runs east/west along the north side of campus. There are currently plans to revitalize it, adding roundabouts and pedestrian-friendly crossings to encourage commercial growth and development. 

hip-hop

Historically Black Colleges and Universities — institutions established prior to 1964 whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans. This designation was provided by the Higher Education Act of 1965. HBCU on second reference.

Homecoming — always capitalized when referring to the annual University celebration

Homecoming Committee — always capitalized;  use the committee on second and subsequent references unless it will cause confusion.

Horne Street

Hoops 4 Hope — Appears in text as “Hoops 4 Hope.” The 4 is part of the logo of the  not-for-profit organization that supports youth development in Zimbabwe and South Africa by working with schools, shelters, and community organizations since 1995. It apparently has no numerical significance.

Horticulture Science Graduate Student Association — Horticulture Science GSA on second reference

hungover — one word; and hangover as in “suffering the effects of a hangover.”

 

I

I Love New York Pizza — popular Italian restaurant on Hillsborough Street

International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience — IAESTE on second reference

indie — reference to independent; use only in features or opinion pieces

Industrial Engineering Graduate Student Association — Industrial Engineering GSA on second reference

Interfraternity Council — one of the four Greek Councils under the Department of Greek Life. Serves as a governing body for fraternities on campus and acts as a liaison between the University and the organizations. IFC on second reference.

InterResidence Council — IRC on second reference

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship

instant message —form of instant online text communication. IM is acceptable on second reference.

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering — IEEE on second reference.

Institute of Transportation Engineers — ITE on second reference. 

iPhone, iPad, iPod — use “IPhone,” “IPad” and “IPod” if it is the first word of a sentence; all are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc.

Irregardless Café — On Morgan Street

Italian Club — Also called Circolo Italiano.

italic — uses italics for the titles of a publication. An exception to AP style. See composition titles.

 

J

Jackson Street

Jeter Drive

Johnson C. Smith University — located in Charlotte, N.C.

 

K

Kings Barcade — a barcade located in downtown Raleigh. Note that there is no apostrophe.

koozie — A koozie is a fabric or foam device that is designed to keep a beverage can or bottle cold.

 

L

Ladies in Red — one of NCSU’s all-female a cappella singing groups. It reorganized in the fall of 2002.

lake — capitalize as part of proper name. 

Lake Crabtree

Lake Johnson

Lake Raleigh — located on Centennial Campus. 

Lampe Drive

lectures/speeches — see composition titles.

Lees-McRae College — located in Banner Elk, N.C.

legislative titles — use Rep., Reps., Sen. and Sens. as formal titles preceding one or more names in a story. Spell out the title in direct quotations. In other uses, spell out and lowercase senator and representative. When referring to either the Student Senate or the Faculty Senate, capitalize senator when it comes before a name, otherwise lowercase. 

Lenoir-Rhyne College — located in Hickory, N.C.

Lifelong Education

Ligon Street

limousine, Limousin — limousine is the car. Limousin is the cow.

Linux Users Group — LUG is acceptable on second reference. 

Livingstone College — located in Salisbury, N.C.

Logan Court

Louisburg College — located in Louisburg, N.C.

Lowcountry — capitalize this area of South Carolina

lyrics — when used in stories, put quotation marks around them. Indicate line breaks by putting a backslash (/) at the end of a line, followed by a space before the beginning of the next. Retain the artist’s punctuation and capitalization. 

 

M

magazine names — see composition titles

Main Campus Drive

MAITRI — graduate Indian student association

majors/minors — not capitalized except in cases that incorporate proper nouns (i.e., English, Spanish, etc.); all student majors listed as part of quote attribution should be the student’s major as it is listed in the NCSU student directory

Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Graduate Student Association — MEASGSA on second reference

Mars Hill College — located in Mars Hill, N.C.

Mary Yarbrough Court — area between Watauga Residence Hall, Peele Hall, Leazar Hall and Holladay Hall. 

Materials Science and Engineering Graduate Student Association — Materials Science and Engineering GSA on second reference

McKimmon Center — short for McKimmon Center for Extension and Continuing Education; established in 1924; the McKimmon Conference and Training Center opened in 1976; http://www.mckimmon.ncsu.edu/

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Graduate Student Association — MEAGSA on second reference

Meredith College — women’s college located off Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, N.C.

Method Road

Methodist University — located in Fayetteville, N.C.

Microbiology Graduate Student Association — Microbiology GSA on second reference

Mi Familia

Montreat College — located in Montreat, N.C.

Morrill Drive

Mothers Against Drunk Driving — MADD on second reference. Although drunk driving is grammatically incorrect, it is the preferred form.

Mount Olive College — located in Mount Olive, N.C.

movie titles — see composition titles. 

Mr., Mrs., Ms. — avoid use unless in quotations. See AP Stylebook for more guidelines.

music — see composition titles.

Muslim Student Association

Myspace — online networking site free of charge and available to everyone. Refer to participants as Myspace users who have Myspace profiles or accounts.

 

N

natatorium — the pool area of Carmichael gym

nationalities and races — capitalize the proper names of races, nationalities, peoples, tribes, etc. Lowercase black, white, red, mulatto, etc. See race in the AP Stylebook for guidelines on when racial identification is appropriate in a story. Lowercase derogatory terms and use them only in direct quotes when essential to the story; these must have the editor in chief’s approval. See the Profanity Guidelines for more information.. 

National Pan-Hellenic Council — one of the four Greek councils under the Department of Greek Life. Serves as a national umbrella organization for the nine incorporated historically black fraternities and sororities, known as the “Divine Nine.” NPHC is acceptable on second reference.

Native American — Native American Student Association; not American Indian Student Association; NASA is acceptable on second and subsequent references unless there is potential for confusion with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration which can be abbreviated NASA on all references.

NCAA — National Collegiate Athletic Association. NCAA on first reference only in sports stories; spell out in others.

N.C. Agricultural & Technical State University — located in Greensboro; N.C. A&T on second reference

N.C. Central University — located in Durham; NCCU on second reference

N.C. School of the Arts — located in Winston-Salem; one of the 16 UNC-System schools. NCSA on second reference

N.C. School of Science & Mathematics — located in Durham; NCSSM on second reference

NCSU Bookstores — the official bookstore serving N.C. State; takes singular verbs and pronouns.

N.C. Wesleyan College — located in Rocky Mount, N.C.

News and Observer, The — located in Raleigh. The the is part of the formal name. The N&O on second reference. 

New Student Orientation — not Freshman Orientation; more information available online at http://www.ncsu.edu/nso/

newspaper names —see composition titles

nonstudent

North Carolina State University — for news, opinion and features, it is N.C. State on first reference and NCSU afterward. For sports, it is N.C. State on first reference and State on second reference. NCSU was founded in 1887 as a land-grant university and is one of the major research universities in the state, offering degrees in approximately 125 fields of study. 

Nubian Message — student newspaper representing the voice of black students. The goal of the paper is to be a resource for learning about aspects of black culture and other culture. The the in the name is not capitalized, as in the Technician.

 

O

Oberlin Road

obscenities, profanities, vulgarities — refer to Profanity Guidelines for more information.

operas — see composition titles. 

Order of 30 and 3 — note the use of figures.

 

P

Packabelles — female a cappella group at NCSU.

paintings — see composition titles.

Panhellenic Council — one of the four councils under the Department of Greek Life. Serves as an international umbrella organization for 26 sororities and exists on campus to maintain and develop Greek life. Serves as the coordinating body for recruitment. Use the council on second reference.

periodicals — see composition titles.

physical education — Department of Physical Education; PE is acceptable on second and subsequent references.

plays — see composition titles.

poetry — see composition titles.

Pogue Street 

police department — in communities where this is the formal name, capitalize police department with or without the name of the community. If an agency has a different formal name, use that name if it is the way the department is known to the public. If the story uses police department as a generic term, lowercase it. See the AP Stylebook for further details. For NCSU, it’s Campus Police.

Poultry Science Graduate Student Association — Poultry Science GSA on second reference.

Pour House — lowercase the before the name. 

Power Sound of the South — NCSU’s marching band. 

profanity — refer to Profanity Guidelines for more information.

Public Relations Student Society of America — PRSSA on second reference.

Pullen Road

 

Q

Quad — made up of Becton, Berry and Bagwell residence halls.

quotations in the news — do not alter quotations to correct even minor grammatical errors or word usage. Minor tongue slips may be omitted using ellipses, but even that should be done with caution. If you must make a correction, place corrected material in brackets [ ], and clear it with an editor first. If there is a question about a quote, clarify it by talking to the speaker or do not use it. If a person is unavailable to comment, note attempts made to communicate with that person. Do not routinely use abnormal spellings to convey regional dialects or mispronunciations. Avoid fragmentary quotes if at all possible. Be cautious of the context of the quote to avoid misleading the reader.

 

R

race — See nationalities and races.

Raleigh City Council — lowercase council or city council on second reference.

Raleigh Police Department — RPD on second reference. Not to be confused with the State Capitol Police.

Raleigh-Durham International Airport — RDU on second reference. 

Raulston Arboretum — J. C. Raluston Arboretum; part of the Department of Horticultural Science, the Arboretum is primarily a working research and teaching garden that focuses on the evaluation, selection and display of plant material gathered from around the world; http://www.ncsu.edu/jcraulstonarboretum/

re-create, recreate — Re-create means to make again. Recreate means to have a good time.

Reedy Creek Road

Research Drive

Research Triangle — refers to the area inside the triangle formed by NCSU, UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University. The Triangle on second reference. 

Research Triangle Park — the area in Wake and Durham counties that encompasses many research facilities and companies. RTP or the park on second reference.

Reserve Officers’ Training Corps — ROTC on all references; specify the service if necessary.

residence halls — never dorm. Use proper name on first reference. Do not capitalize when using in a generic sense or as a plural.

resident advisor — RA on second reference.

room numbers — use figures and capitalize room when used with a figure. For ground-floor rooms, use the letter G before the number, no space.

ROTC — acceptable on all references for Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. When the service is specified, use this form: Army ROTC, Navy ROTC, etc.

roundabout 

 

S

Saint Augustine’s College — located in Raleigh

Saint Mary’s — college and high school for women

SAS Institute — headquarters are in Cary, N.C.

second reference — in this book, it means any reference other than the first reference in a story.

Self Knowledge Symposium — no hyphen

senate — capitalize all specific references to governmental legislative bodies, regardless of whether the name of the nation is used: the U.S. Senate, the Senate, the Virginia Senate. Lowercase plural uses and references to non-governmental bodies. Capitalize Student Senate, Faculty Senate and Staff Senate, an exception to AP style.

service clubs — see the Greek organizations entry

Seven Sisters — the colleges are Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Radcliffe, Smith, Vassar and Wellesley. 

sex changes — use the pronoun preferred by individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that differs from their sex at birth. If there is no preference, use the pronoun consistent with the individual’s public life.

Shack-a-Thon — Shack-a-Thon is an annual event organized by NCSU Habitat for Humanity to educate the campus community on the state of poverty housing in this country and abroad.

Shaw University — located in Raleigh

sitcom

Smith Center — UNC-Chapel Hill’s basketball arena. The largest college arena in the ACC, it seats about 21,500. 

Society for Creative Anachronism — student organization dedicated to researching and recreating the arts and skills of medieval Europe. SCA on second reference.

Society of African American Culture — note the use of African American

Society of African-American Physical & Mathematical Scientists — note the use of African-American, with hyphen

Society of Undergraduate Mathematics — SUM on second reference. 

software titles — capitalize but only italicize if the title is for a computer game.

Soil Science Graduate Student Association — Soil Science GSA on second reference

Solar Demonstration House — located at the McKimmon Center

song titles — see composition titles

sororities — see Greek organizations entry

spring break — not capitalized unless part of a formal name

Staff Senate — use senate on second reference unless a distinction needs to be made between it and Student Senate. Members are staff senators.

State Capitol Police — not to be confused with the Raleigh Police Department. The State Capitol Police is a division of the Department of Administration in North Carolina. The organization provides police protection for State Government employees in state-owned facilities.

Statistics and Biomathematics Graduate Student Association — Statistics and Biomathematics GSA on second reference

Stewart Theatre — located in Talley Student Center

Stinson Drive

Student Government Association — Student Government is acceptable on any reference. Always capitalize both words when referring to the student organization on NCSU’s campus. ASG refers to the Association of Student Governments and includes student government associations from all 16 UNC-System campuses. 

Student Judicial Boards — there are two branches: Student Faculty Hearing Board and Academic Integrity Review Board

Student Senate — always capitalize when referring to the legislative branch of Student Government. The Senate is acceptable on second reference.

Students Against Destructive Decisions — SADD on second reference. Founded as Students Against Driving Drunk.

Study Abroad Office — part of the Office of International Affairs

Sullivan Drive

 

T

Tae Kwon Do Club

Taiji Club

Tar Heel

teaching assistant — TA is acceptable on second and subsequent references; may be a proper title and therefore would be capitalized before a name; also research assistant which should not be abbreviated to avoid confusion with resident adviser or resident assistant.

Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry — TAPPI on second reference

Technician — NCSU’s student newspaper, established in 1920. Note the is not a formal part of title. Offices are 323 Witherspoon Student Center. www.technicianonline.com

teepee — not tipi; a conical tent originally made of animal skins or birch bark and popularized by the Native Americans of the Great Plains. Tepees are stereotypically associated with Native Americans in general, but Native Americans from places other than the Great Plains used different types of dwellings. The term wigwam (a domed structure) is sometimes incorrectly used to refer to tepees.

television shows — see composition titles

Textile Association of Graduate Students — TAGS on second reference

Thomas Jefferson Scholars — dual degree program in agriculture and the humanities

Thurman Drive

titled, entitled — entitled means to have a right to or to own; titled refers to the name by which something is known.

town hall meeting

Toxicology Graduate Student Association — Toxicology GSA on second reference

trespass — commonly used by campus police as a verb to describe the act of banning the individual from a certain area. Stevens was trespassed from campus.

Transportation, NCSU — official name for NCSU department. Not Department of Transportation.

Tri-Towers — capitalized as a reference to the proper area; three residence halls, including Bowen Residence Hall, Metcalf Residence Hall and Carroll Residence Hall

Triangle — refers to the area between Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. Research Triangle refers to the area between N.C. State, Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill. 

Trinity Road

trustee — a person to whom another’s property or the management of another’s property is entrusted. Do not capitalize when used before a name. Refer to members of the NCSU Board of Trustees as board members, not trustees.

Twitter — a message-distribution system that allows users to post continual updates of up to 140 characters detailing their activities for followers or provide links to content. The verb forms are tweet and tweeted. A Twitter message is known as a tweet.

 

U

Ultimate — not Ultimate Frisbee; game with rules similar to football. NCSU has men’s and women’s club teams. Women’s team is Jaga on second reference. Men’s team is Jinx on second reference. While originally called Ultimate Frisbee, it is now officially called Ultimate because Frisbee is the trademark for the line of discs made by the Wham-O toy company. In fact, discs made by Wham-O competitor Discraft are the standard discs for the sport.

UNC System — made up of 16 schools, with second references in parentheses: Appalachian State University (ASU), East Carolina University (ECU), Elizabeth City State University (ECSU), Fayetteville State University (spell out on second reference; FSU is Florida State University), North Carolina School of the Arts (N.C. School of the Arts), North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T), North Carolina State University (NCSU), North Carolina Central University (NCCU), UNC-Asheville (UNC-A), UNC-Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), UNC-Charlotte (UNC-C), UNC-Greensboro (UNC-G), UNC-Pembroke (UNC-P), UNC-Wilmington (UNC-W), Western Carolina University (WCU) and Winston-Salem State University (WSSU). Hyphenate when used as a modifier, i.e. UNC-System schools.

Union Activities Board — student fee funded organization that serves as the main programming body on campus. UAB on second reference.

Union Board of Directors — body that oversees the Union Activities Board and makes recommendations to the University administration regarding campus Student Centers. Refer to as the board or the board of directors on second reference

University, the — acceptable second reference for North Carolina State University; lowercase the

University Graduate Student Association — University GSA on second reference

University Recreation — formerly the Department of Campus Recreation, it was created to provide diverse opportunities for the campus community to expand the knowledge of and participation in recreational activities, which foster healthy lifestyles, sportsmanship, teamwork, and leadership. Do not use Campus Rec or University Rec. 

University Theatre — not theater; University Theatre is N.C. State’s volunteer student theatre and part of Arts NC State within the Division of Student Affairs; includes the Titmus Theatre and Kennedy-McIlwee Studio Theatre in the Frank Thompson Building and Stewart Theatre located in Talley Student Center; http://www.ncsu.edu/theatre/

University Housing — not Department of Housing. Housing is acceptable on second reference.

V

The V Foundation — a charitable foundation dedicated to helping cancer research in honor of former N.C. State basketball coach Jim Valvano.

Varsity Drive

video games — see composition titles

Volunteers in Service to America — VISTA on second reference

vulgarities — refer to “Guidelines for use of profanity” for more information

 

W

WakeMed

Warren Carroll Drive

Watauga Club Drive

WE Recycle — no periods in this non-acronym; WE Recycle is N.C. State’s Stadium Tailgate Recycling Program. Started in 2003 by freshman Paul Mobley as “Chuck It” Recycling, the program recycles nearly 20 tons of beverage containers each season. It is a collaboration between N.C. State Waste Reduction and Recycling, Waste Industries and the Department of Athletics.

Westchase Boulevard

Web Assign —  Created in 1997, WebAssign® is a registered service mark of North Carolina State University under license to Advanced Instructional Systems, Inc. Headquarters is in Venture 4 building on Centennial Campus.

Webmail 

Webshots — proper name for the Web site that allows users to post photos. Do not refer to these photos as Webshots. instead refer to them as photos of pictures on an individual’s Webshots account.

West Dunn Avenue

Western Boulevard

William Moore Drive

William Peace University — located in Raleigh

Windhover — NCSU’s literary publication

WKNC — NCSU’s student radio station. 88.1 FM

Wolf Aides — leadership development program for first-year students affiliated with N.C. State’s Student Government

Wolf TV — two words; became part of the NCSU Student Media in 2009

The Wolf Web — “The” is capitalized as part of the proper name. A student blog located online at http://thewolfweb.com/ not affiliated with the University. Jake Morgan conceived the idea in April of 2000 as “NCSU Forum.” Also uses the URL http://brentroad.com/. Had about 33,000 registered users in the spring of 2009, up from about 80 in the spring of 2000.

Wolfgang — coed a cappella singing group at NCSU

Wolfline — N.C. State’s mass transportation system, operated by the NCSU Transportation

Wolfpack — Takes a singular verb as in these actually published examples in accordance with the AP Stylebook rule on collective nouns. This is an exception to a new rule adopted by the Associated Press in 2008 that allows team names to take plural verbs. It is also the style for the Raleigh News & Observer. As former Technician sports writer Joe Overby, now a writer with the Cary News and S&A Cheorokee Publishing, said, “just ‘sounds’ better, and it’s what readers have become accustomed to, so it would look out of place as “Wolfpack are….” As former Technician Editor Tyler Dukes, now with News 14 Carolina, said, “This would be a good reason to break with AP style, because it would seem like a grammatical error to the reader to say “the Wolfpack are.’” And former Technician Managing Editor Ben McNeely, now a reporter with the Concord Independent Tribune, said, “‘Wolfpack’ is derived from the prepositional phrase ‘a pack of wolves.’ So if you analyze that sentence, you would use ‘is’ instead of ‘are.’ Use it in a sentence, ‘A pack of wolves is following us’ and take out ‘of wolves,’ what do you have left? It sounds weird, but like much in the English language, what sounds right is often not correct.” And former Technician sports reporter Andrew Carter, now a reporter with the Orlando Sentinel, said, “Should be singular.” as did News & Observer sports reporter Chip Alexander: “singular.”

• ex: “The Wolfpack is raking in in-state football spoils…”
• ex: “The Wolfpack is in line for a second bowl trip to Birmingham…”
• ex: “Wolfpack is still all show and no go.”

Wolfpack Club and Student Wolfpack Club — The N.C. State Student Aid Association, Inc., more commonly known as the Wolfpack Club, is a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships for N.C. State student athletes. The Wolfpack Club was founded in 1936. The Wolfpack Club is made up of donors whose contributions range from $100 to more than $18,000 annually. The Wolfpack Club is not affiliated with the Alumni Association, N.C. State athletics or the University. http://www.wolfpackclub.com

Wolfpack One card — NCSU’s multipurpose ID/meal/copy card

Wolfpack Sports Marketing —Wolfpack Sports Marketing is the sales and marketing organization for N.C. State Athletics. A division of Capitol Radio Network under the CBC umbrella, Wolfpack Sports Marketing handles all corporate marketing and sponsorship sales for the N.C. State University Department of Athletics. WSM produces radio play-by-play coverage of football, men’s and women’s basketball and baseball, television and radio coaches’ shows, the Game Day program and the Official Web site for the department of athletics, www.gopack.com. In 2003, the  business partnership with N.C. State is extended until 2013.

Women’s Center — Officially “The North Carolina State Women’s Center” or “the Women’s Center” in short, it was founded in 1991 and is located in Talley Student Center. http://www.ncsu.edu/womens_center/

words as words — the meaning is best illustrated by example: In this sentence, man appears solely as a word, not as the means of representing the concept normally associated with the word. Put words used as words in italics. 

works of art — see composition titles.

 

XYZ

yam — not related to sweet potatoes, although in some parts of the United States, several varieties  of  sweet potatoes are popularly called yams.

Yarbrough Drive

YouTube — Founded in February 2005, YouTube is a leader in online video. http://www.youtube.com/ncstate

Zoology Graduate Student Association — Zoology GSA on second reference